Goods treating machine and unloading means therefor



Dec. 19, 1939. F. w. A. HENRICI GOODS TREATING MACHINE AND UNLOADINGMEANS THEREFOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1938 m x m 0 0 I M 1 w M8 m. Y

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2,183,910 GOODS TREATING MACHINE AND UNLOADING MEANS THEREFOR 4Sheets-Sheet 5 InveW/Zjofi: rw/izwflmnvzcm,

F. W. A. HENRICI Filed Oct. 14, 1938 2,383,919 GOODS TREATING MACHINEAND UNLOADING MEANS THEREFOR m R N E H A w F 4 Sheets-Shet 4 Filed Oct.14, 1938 Q mw OMQO ,o b im mm &

Patented Dec. 19, 1939 muNl linsrm-gsi' PATENT OFFICE GOODS TREATINGMACHINE AND UNLOAD- J ING MEANS THEREFOR Fritz A. HenricL lWilton,Mass." 'Application octoberll l, 1938, Serial No. 235,005

textile and other goods in the form of garments, piece goods and smallunits, with liquid, and especially towashing machines, and moreparticularly to washing machines of commercial size as-used in publiclaundries and institutions. The invention aims to provide an improvedmachine of that type having,- among other novel features Fig. 2, avertical cross section on the line-2, 2,' Fig. 1, from the le'ft,-withthe goods to be'-treat-- ed, as laundered, in the cylinder compartment,and the goods-unloading member in position preparatory to operating themachine;

Fig. 3,- a like view showing-the unloadingmem? ber inposition to unloadthe goods from the drum, after being treated; v I r 2 -Fig. 4, apartial, verticaL-sectional view, on

an enlarged scale, of the front wall of the goods- Fig. 6, a similarview of the jointof the cylin-l der wall and the central partitionbetween the cylinder chambers, on the line 61-6, Fig. 1, look ing down,with the compartment door closedy 1 Fig. '7, a horizontal section on theline l,1, Fig. 1, looking down, showing the goods unloader.substantially in the'position shownin Fig. 2; Fig. 8, a detail plan onan enlarged scale, partly broken away, of the unloader .shown in Fig. 9,a vertical cross section of the same on the line 9-9, Fig. 8, partlybroken away; Fig. 10, a partial plan of a modified form of unloader,partly broken away;

Fig. 11, a detail on an enlarged scale of the same portion of the drumwall, as shown in Fig. 4, showing a modified form of unloader, locked inposition;

Fig. 12, a detail in section of a modified form of "cylinder wall andend construction; and Fig. 13, a modified form of operating means forthe goods-unloading device. Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, 3, my novelgoods- V v 4 9 Qlaims. 7 (01. 68-210) This invention relates to machinesfor treating treating machine, and for illustrative purposes I haveselected a washing machine, comprises a shell l of desired diameter,length and material, preferably non-corroding metal, the shell havingsuitable ends, as of cast metal 2. 5 This shell is" carriedby anysuitable means, as a base 4, herein partly broken away, resting inturn'on 'the floor. Each end of 1 the shell 1 has formed therein, Figs,1, 2, a bearing 5, to

receive the endof the cylinder stub-shaft 6, to 10 be described. 1 I 7The shell, Figs. 1,2, is provided on its upper portion-with acurvilinear guide strip-l along the circumferential edge of a dooropening la in theshell, to receive, between'it and the shell, 15 theedge of a door 8, with a suitable handle or handles Q, by means of whichthe door of the opening in-the shell may be readily opened or closed.

"Within the shell and carried by the stub shaft or axle 6, Figs. 1, 7,is a cylinder-like goodscontainer- IU, of one ormore chambers orcompartrnents longitudinally arranged. I

*My novel cylinder, Fig. 2, is preferably composed of twocircumferentialsegmental sheets 5 |l,-|l2, although one or many may beused, one

segment being largeenough to be fashioned to provide the alternatelyarranged, longitudinal bars a, b, c, d, and plates e, f, g, h,perforated as at 12c, with alongitudinal flange 12, while the 3 othersegmental section is similarly fashioned to provide bars 7', k, l, m, n,and o, and plates p, q, r, s and t, similarly perforated, with a flangei,-the'two s'egments being welded together, and which. I regard asstronger and less expensive 5 than anassembled cylinder of many separateplates and bars. '-In the open edges of some of the bars is provided, asby Welding, an angle bar 11,, to secure rigidity for the cylinderwall.

- These bars strengthen the-cylinder, and as- 6 s'is'tin the washing orother process by acting to prevent the goods from becoming bunched up,andby keeping them moving within the cylinder.) Each cylindercompartment has its circumferential wall, extending from the bar a to 45the bare on the right, cut away to provide an openingfor the insertionand withdrawal of goods. The shell, as at l2b, is provided withacombined bumper bar. and water channel '0,

which admits water. or other liquid through 56 opening I20 in its end,and which liquid enters the cylinder, as through opening IZcZ therein, Y

The cylinder, Fig. 2, is provided at saidope'n ing with a segmental-likedoor I3 for each com partm'ent, which door slides betweenthe 'over- 55hanging edges of guide strips hi on the cylinder outer wall and thecylinder outer wall itself, the door being provided at its lower edgewith a hand pocket l5 for moving it, the rear door edge ll beinginturned, if desired, to engage when closed a similarly outturned edgel8 on the bar a. The joint of the cylinder wall Ill and its ends Iilaand strip I4 may be, as shown in Fig '7, welded or otherwise secured,but this construction and corresponding end wall, not shown, are adisturbing feature, as, in withdrawing the goods from the cylinder, thegoods tend to collect or bunch up at that joint, and thus retardwithdrawal of them, and create danger of tearing them during withdrawal.To overcome this difiiculty, Figs. 5, 6, I fill the area I9 at suchjoint with a fillet 20 of metal, which provides a curved, smooth surface2|, over which the goods will slide freely, through an angular path tothe door. This fillet extends from the lower edge to the upper edge ofthe door opening. Its outer edge is provided with apertures l9a, bymeans of which one can have access to the interior to assemble it withthe cylinder, as by welding.

In using this type of power washing machine, as at present constructed,a great inconvenience is the difliculty of removing the goods from thecylinder. When the goods are thoroughly soaked with liquid, they arevery heavy. Frequently, a cylinder chamber full of goods, when wet, willweigh 600 pounds, and cannot be lifted bodily from the cylinder by asingle operator. They mustbe drawn out part at a time, and thisproceeding is slow and apt to result in tearing some of the goods, ifnot carefully done.

To avoid this difliculty, I have provided the cylinder of my machinedisclosed herein with a novel goods-unloading device.

This device, Figs. 2, 3, 4, 7, comprises, as shown, a flexiblecylinder-blanketing and goods-unloading blanket 22, made of any materialthat is sufiiciently strong and flexible to answer the purpose. Aknitted member, as a net, Figs. 2, 3, 8, of textile material, or ofcanvas, Fig. 10, metal or any flexible material, may be used. Thisblanket is Wider than the diameter of the cylinder, and preferably aslong as the compartment in which it is used, and is provided, at aconvenient point or points, with suitable means for securing it to thecylinder inner wall, after the goods have been washed.

In Figs. 2, 8, the blanket is shown as folded, and fashionedlongitudinally to form a plurality of aligned, but longitudinally spacedloops 23, through which a rod 24 may be inserted, the rod also passingthrough similar co-operating longitudinally spaced sleeves 25, formed onthe edge of a locking plate 26 of suitable material, as metal, or anyother suitable material, which in turn is locked to the cylinders innerwall, as by pins 21 thrust-through holes 21a in the plate 26, Fig. 9,and into the reinforced bar 0, Figs. 2, 4, there being as many of suchpins as necessary, to provide means for securely anchoring the blanketedge to said bar preparatory to positioning the blanket beneath thegoods after the washing action is completed. The upper folded flapportion 28 of the blanket may be long enough to enable it to be graspedby the operator when unloading the cylinder, or to be also engaged bythe hooks 36, Fig. 3, with the free end of the blanket and the blanketand goods lifted bodily from the cylinder.

. The main cylinder portion .of the blanket is wide enough, Fig. 3,after it is attached to the cylinder to unload the goods, to blanket thecylinder wall and lie beneath the goods in the drum and provide the freeend 28, to be used when unloading the goods, Fig. 3, as described above.

While the drum may be rotated in each direction, if desired, during thewashing action, it

preferably should be rotated clockwise as indicated by the arrow, Fig.3, a few times at the end of the washing period and after the unloaderis attached to the cylinder, to be more certain to position the blanketas desired. If desired, however, obviously the direction of rotationneed not be clockwise, as stated, and the blanket willaccordinglyposition itself over the goods, and with the blanket free endenwrapped about the goods and pointing in the direction in which thecylinder has been rotated.

For removing the blanket and contained goods, Figs. 1, 2, 3, means areprovided, herein comprising a roll 32, having a shaft 33 journaled inbrackets 34 on the shell I, the roll carrying as many ropes or chains 35as needed, and provided with hooks 36, or other suitable means forengaging the end, or ends of the blanket, as through eyelets 37, andlifting and ejecting it with the goods free from the cylinder.

Theshaft 33 carries a gear 38, which meshes with a pinion 39 on a shaft40 in a bearing 4| on the shell I. The pinion may be driven by a motor,not shown, or any suitable means, and thus the free end, or both ends,of the blanket may be drawn upward and forward, Fig. 3, and, with thegoods, withdrawn through the door of the drum and shell, and droppedeither into a basket, not shown, from which they may be dumped into awater extractor, or dumped into a basketon a car for conveying the goodsto any other place.

Or, instead of mounting the unloader operating mechanism on the shell,it may be, Fig. 13, mounted upon a support 43, or any upright mem; ber44, broken away, conveniently positioned on the floor-like pattern 45,and the rope 35 used as described.

While a knitted sheet has some advantage, permitting the water in theclothes to escape readily, a sheet 42 of woven material, Fig. 10, ascanvas, rubber, woven wire, or other similar material, as stated, may beused with good satisfaction.

Obviously, the blanket, having one edge secured to the cylinder, may begrasped by an operator at its opposite free edge and drawn with thegoods, if not too large a mass, through the cylinder door, without anyoutside mechanism, more easily than the goods can beremoved as they arenow.

My invention is not limited to the precise construction shown herein,but may be modified in many details, without departing from the spiritof the claims, and .within the scope thereof.

I claim:

1. In the art of treating goods comprising, a plurality of individualpieces in a rotatable chamber, the method of collecting and envelopingin an enwrapping member, for removal as one lot, the contents of thechamber, said method comprising introducing into thechamber above thetreated goods a flexible goods-enwrapping member of sufficient length tosurround the goods, attaching one end of said member to a side wall ofsaid chamber, the other end and sides of said enwrapping member beingfree, subsequently subjecting the chamber and enwrapping member to jointrotation at a speed permitting the goods to'respond .to the action ofgravitational force,

thus causing the enwrapping member to wrap itself circumferentiallywithin the chamber completely about the goods, leaving both ends abovethe goods in the unloading position of the chamber, seizing at least oneof said ends through the door opening and withdrawing said enwrappingmember with the goods therein from the chamber.

2. A goods treating machine comprising a supporting casing and ahorizontal goods receiving cylinder with a door in its cylindrical wall,means for rotating said cylinder, a goods unloader lifting means on thecasing, and a removable goodsunloader comprising a sheet of flexiblematerial provided with means cooperating with said unloader liftingmeans and provided with a cylinder engaging part attached to thecylinder wall at one edge only to position said edge of the flexiblesheet with respect to the goods leaving the remainder of the sheet free,whereby rotation of the cylinder causes the flexible sheet to enwrapitself about the goods Within the cylinder, leaving one free edge ofsaid flexible sheet exposed on top of the goods; and means for operatingsaid lifting means for withdrawing said flexible sheet with theenwrapped goods from the machine.

3. A goods treating machine comprising a horizontal rotatable goodsreceiving cylinder provided with a door in its cylinder wall, and agoods-unloader member withdrawable through the door opening andcomprising a sheet of flexible material having cylinder and doorengaging means at one edge and attached thereby to the cylinder toposition said edge of the sheet with respect to the goods, the otheredges of the sheet being free whereby rotation of the cylinder causesthe sheet to enwrap itself about the goods leaving one free edge exposedfor unloadmg.

4. A machine of the kind described in claim 3 wherein the goods unloadermember is provided at its exposed free edge with means adapted tocooperate with lifting means operated through said door opening.

5. A goods treating machine comprising a shell, a goods receivingcylinder with a door rotatable within said shell, and a goods-unloadermember adapted to be inserted in said shell and cylinder after the goodscomprising a sheet of flexible material of a width not substantiallygreater than the door opening and provided with a supporting bar at oneedge attachable to the inner wall of the cylinder, whereby the goodsunloader member is secured within the cylinder with its free end on topof the goods, whereupon rotation of the cylinder causes the goodsunloader member to enwrap itself with and about the goods with its freeend exposed on top of the goods in unloading position, so as to beaccessible to hoisting means positioned outside of said shell forengaging said end of the unloader member and lifting it and the goodsenwrapped therein to the door for removal from said cylinder.

6. A machine of the kind described in claim 5 wherein the cylinder isprovided with fillet members at the joints of its circumferential walland ends adjacent said door opening filling the angle spaces at the endsof said door opening and providing a smooth path to the door for thegoods in the unloader.

7. A goods treating machine comprising a rotary cylinder and a goodsunloader therefor, said cylinder having a door opening in itscircumferential wall and unioader attaching means adjacent thereto, saidunlo-ader comprising a flexible sheet longer than the goods supportingportion of the inner perimeter of the cylinder and having near one edgea cylinder engaging part secured to the attaching means on the cylinderwall, said unloader being freely movable otherwise with respect to thecylinder wall whereby rotation thereof with the cylinder causes its freeedge to become enwrapped about the goods therein, and said unloaderhaving means adjacent to its edges for engagement by lifting meansincluding members insertable through said door opening for removing saidunloader member and the goods enwrapped therein from the cylinder.

8. A goods treating machine comprising a rotary cylinder and a goodsunloader therefor, said cylinder having a door opening in itscircumferential wall and unloader attaching means adjacent thereto, afillet in the angle between the end wall of said cylinder and said dooropening, the exposed face of said fillet sloping towards the latter,said unloader comprising a flexible sheet longer than the goodssupporting portion of the inner perimeter of the cylinder and havingnear one edge a cylinder engaging part secured to the attaching means onthe cylinder Wall, said unloader being freely movable otherwise withrespect to the cylinder wall whereby rotation thereof with the cylindercauses its free edge to become enwrapped about the goods therein, andsaid unloader having means adjacent to said free edge for engagement bylifting means including members insertable through said door opening forremoving said unloader member and the goods enwrapped therein from thecylinder without injury to said goods.

9. In a goods treating machine comprising a rotary goods-treatingcylinder having a door opening in its circumferential wall and unloaderattaching means adjacent thereto, an unloader comprising a flexiblesheet longer than one-half the inner perimeter of the cylinder andhaving near one edge a cylinder engaging part secured to the attachingmeans on the cylinder wall, said unloader being freely movable otherwisewith respect to the cylinder wall whereby rotation thereof with thecylinder causes its free edge to become enwrapped about the goodstherein, and said unloader having means adjacent to both said edges forengagement by lifting means including members insertable through saiddoor opening for removing said unloader member and the goods enWrappedtherein from the cylinder.

FRITZ W. A. HENRICI.

